Iran Launches New Strikes on Kurdish Sites

A photo distributed by Fars News Agency shows an Iranian rocket launched towards Kurdistan last Thursday (AFP)
A photo distributed by Fars News Agency shows an Iranian rocket launched towards Kurdistan last Thursday (AFP)
TT

Iran Launches New Strikes on Kurdish Sites

A photo distributed by Fars News Agency shows an Iranian rocket launched towards Kurdistan last Thursday (AFP)
A photo distributed by Fars News Agency shows an Iranian rocket launched towards Kurdistan last Thursday (AFP)

Iran renewed bombing of sites in the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, said an official from Komala Iranian-Kurdish opposition.

Atta Nasser said that the Iranian forces launched artillery fire and drone strikes on bases used by exiled Iranian group Komala in the Mount Halgurd area, near the Iranian border.

The strikes "destroyed some outposts, without causing casualties among our ranks," Nasser said.

On Thursday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced they would continue their attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan against the Iranian-Kurdish opposition.

For more than a week, Iran has launched sporadic strikes in northern Iraq, the most violent of which was on Wednesday, with more than 70 missiles and drone strikes in the autonomous region, targeting Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups.

At least 14 people, including a pregnant woman, were killed in the attacks, and 50 others were injured, mostly civilians.

The IRGC said in a statement that it launched a series of operations targeting terrorists in Iraq with "precision missiles" and "suicide drones."

The attacks come as unrest continues across Iran over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman.

Meanwhile, Iraqi President Barham Salih confirmed the Iranian bombing was a serious escalation and a violation of the country's sovereignty, security, stability, and safety of its citizens.

Salih met with National Security Advisor Qassim al-Araji to discuss the recent developments in politics and security-related matters in Iraq.

He also condemned the continued Turkish shelling of the Kurdish area, emphasizing that it is not sustainable or acceptable and has to be ceased immediately to prevent its ramifications.

The meeting reiterated the need to follow up on the security issues with high-level officials of neighboring countries, describing it as a "serious escalation."

They reiterated the need to promote dialogue and for Iraq and its neighbors to address the security challenges, noting that it should be based on shared security interests and in ways that would maintain Iraq's sovereignty and safeguard its citizens.

Earlier, Iraq summoned Iran's ambassador to hand over a worded note of protest to the Iranian government.

Iraq's note of protest said it "condemns this crime in continuous aggression by the Iranian forces against Iraq's sovereignty and territorial sanctity," the Foreign Ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry said the attack was a "dangerous development that threatens Iraq's security and sovereignty."

It is not yet clear whether Iraq will protest at the UN Security Council or will be satisfied with the position expressed by the protest letter.

However, linking the Iranian bombing with the continuation of Turkish shelling of Iraqi areas is a new Iraqi position in terms of dealing with both countries.



German Police Say 4 Women and a Boy Were Killed in the Christmas Market Attack

Tributes to the victims are seen outside the Johanniskirche (Johannes Church), a makeshift memorial near the site of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Tributes to the victims are seen outside the Johanniskirche (Johannes Church), a makeshift memorial near the site of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
TT

German Police Say 4 Women and a Boy Were Killed in the Christmas Market Attack

Tributes to the victims are seen outside the Johanniskirche (Johannes Church), a makeshift memorial near the site of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Tributes to the victims are seen outside the Johanniskirche (Johannes Church), a makeshift memorial near the site of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)

More details emerged Sunday about those killed when a man drove a car at speed through a Christmas market in Germany, while mourners continued to place flowers and other tributes at the site of the attack.

Police in Magdeburg, the central city where the attack took place on Friday evening, said that the victims were four women ranging in age from 45 to 75, as well as a 9-year-old boy they had spoken of a day earlier.

Authorities said 200 people were injured, including 41 in serious condition. They were being treated in multiple hospitals in Magdeburg, which is about 130 kilometers (80 miles) west of Berlin, and beyond.

Authorities have identified the suspect in the Magdeburg attack as a Saudi doctor who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had received permanent residency.

The suspect was on Saturday evening brought before a judge, who behind closed doors ordered that he be kept in custody pending a possible indictment.

Police haven’t publicly named the suspect, but several German news outlets identified him as Taleb A., withholding his last name in line with privacy laws, and reported that he was a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy.

Describing himself as a former Muslim, the suspect appears to have been an active user of the social media platform X, accusing German authorities of failing to do enough to combat what he referred to as the “Islamification of Europe.”

The horror triggered by yet another act of mass violence in Germany make it likely that migration will remain a key issue as German heads toward an early election on Feb. 23.

The far-right Alternative for Germany party had already been polling strongly amid a societal backlash against the large numbers of refugees and migrants who have arrived in Germany over the past decade.

Right-wing figures from across Europe have criticized German authorities for having allowed high levels of migration in the past and for what they see as security failures now.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is known for a strong anti-migration position going back years, used the attack in Germany to lash out at the European Union’s migration policies.

At an annual press conference in Budapest on Saturday, Orban insisted that “there is no doubt that there is a link between the changed world in Western Europe, the migration that flows there, especially illegal migration and terrorist acts.”

Orban vowed to “fight back” against the EU migration policies “because Brussels wants Magdeburg to happen to Hungary, too.”